Perfect Picture Book Friday: THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY plus Picture Book Manuscript Critique Giveaway Plus Book Giveaway

Posted on October 5, 2018 by viviankirkfield

Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, dear friends! I’m continuing on my journey through the fabulous debut picture books of 2018. And today, you are in for a treat. I think most of you know how much I LOVE non-fiction picture book stories. And here is one that is going to go to the top of the charts!

THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY: The Creations of Diamonds & The Life of H. Tracy Hall

Written by Hannah Holt

Illustrated by Jay Fleck

Published by Balzer & Bray (October 2018)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Inventors, curiosity, bullying

Opening lines: “A ROCK named graphite. A BOY named Tracy.

Synopsis: From Amazon:

Told in a unique dual-narrative format, The Diamond and the Boy follows the stories of both natural diamond creation and the life of H. Tracy Hall, the inventor of a revolutionary diamond-making machine. Perfect for fans of Rosie Revere, Engineer, and On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein.

Before a diamond is a gem, it’s a common gray rock called graphite. Through an intense trial of heat and pressure, it changes into one of the most valuable stones in the world.

Before Tracy Hall was an inventor, he was a boy—born into poverty, bullied by peers, forced to work at an early age. However, through education and experimentation, he became one of the brightest innovators of the twentieth century, eventually building a revolutionary machine that makes diamonds.

From debut author Hannah Holt—the granddaughter of Tracy Hall—and illustrator Jay Fleck comes this fascinating in-depth portrait of both rock and man.”

Why I like this book:

Based on the life of her grandfather, the author had access to fabulous research resources…and it shows. The book has an authenticity that you don’t often find, even in nonfiction.
I love that there are so many layers in this story…the life of the diamond, the life of H. Tracy Hall, bullying, staying true to who you are, following your dream.F
The talented Jay Fleck brings the story to life with vivid colors and fabulous illustrations.

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Diamond Shaped Craft for Kids

courtesy: http://cleverlearner.com/shapes/diamond-shape-activity.html

For detailed instructions and other crafts: http://cleverlearner.com/shapes/diamond-shape-activity.html

Diamond facts for kids: http://www.scienceforkidsclub.com/diamond.html

Please don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered in the giveaway of a picture book manuscript critique from Hannah Holt. It will be a priceless gift to one lucky winner!

PLUS…I’m adding another giveaway…a brand new copy of THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY. Here’s the back story: I ordered a copy from Amazon months and months ago. And then, for some reason, I forgot (life has been a bit busy and distracting for me this year)…and so I ordered one from my local indie bookstore. And I picked that one up a few weeks ago…and then the other day, I got a message from Amazon saying my book order would arrive on Thursday. So, now I have two copies and I want to share the joy! I’ll choose one winner for the critique and a different winner for the book. Make sure you comment on today’s post and tomorrow’s and Tuesday’s Book Birthday post. That way you will have three chances.

And I want to thank everyone who shared and/or commented on my Facebook post about the new cover and corrected launch date for Sweet Dreams, Sarah…I’m getting really excited about 2019…I’ve received the hard copy of Pippa’s Passover Plate and I can’t wait to share the cover of Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book…I think it will be ready to reveal in the next month or so!

For more wonderful picture book reviews and activities, please hop over to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book Friday link up.

Enjoy your weekend, dear friends! The autumn leaf colors are deepening. If you are driving or traveling, please be safe.

Happy Book Birthday to THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY plus PB Manuscript Critique Giveaway

Posted on October 2, 2018 by viviankirkfield

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I’m definitely singing at the top of my lungs because THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY: The Creation of Diamonds & the Life of H. Tracy Hall launches today! And this is the debut picture book of one of my critique buddies from the VERY FIRST CRITIQUE GROUP I EVER JOINED! (and we are all still going strong!) I saw this story as a rough draft and watched as it grew more and more polished…until it became a shining gem of a book.

CONGRATULATIONS, dear Hannah Holt!

Make sure you come back on Friday for a Perfect Picture Book Friday review and craft ideas for kids. PLUS, on Saturday, Hannah will be stopping by to chat and share some of her writing journey with us. And don’t forget to leave a comment here and on the other THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY posts…BECAUSE…Hannah has graciously and generously agreed to give away a PICTURE BOOK MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE…and I can tell you from many years experience, this talented author knows how to give unbelievable feedback!

Meanwhile, what can you do? Well, you can head over to pick up a copy of her book on Amazon or at your local indie bookstore. You can write a review on Amazon or Goodreads or some other book review sites. You can go to your library and ask them to purchase a copy or two for their collection, if it isn’t already available there. And you can share this post on your social media channels so the whole world will find out about this fabulous book. It’s going to be such a great #STEM addition to every elementary school and library. And if your kiddos are curious, inventive, lovers of anything science, or have ever been bullied, you definitely want to read this with them.

CONGRATULATIONS, Hannah! This is the first of many more book birthdays to come for you!!!!

A TON OF GIVEAWAY PRIZE NOTIFICATIONS

Posted on September 21, 2018 by viviankirkfield

I must apologize, dear readers. We’ve had many giveaways in the past two months…but my life got crazy busy with travel planning for next year (more about that later) and I neglected to award the prizes. Plus, for some reason, Facebook is not letting me use my share button to post on my own page. I can share someone else’s posts. And I can post on anyone else’s page. And I can comment everywhere. But on my home page, the share button is disabled. If any of you more tech savvy people out there have any idea of what is going on, your input would be much appreciated!

I believe the last giveaway we awarded was a copy of Anna Redding’s GOOGLE IT! to Rosie Pova. I know Rosie received it already because she posted about it on Facebook. Rosie, I know you will love the book.

So, the first giveaway today is from author/illustrator Emilie Boon…a copy of ELLA AND MONKEY AT SEA. And the winner is…CARMELA SIMMONS

After that we have a copy of H IS FOR HAIKU written by Sydell Rosenberg and brought to the world by her daughter, Amy Losak. And the winner is…TRACY HORA.

Next is a critique by the talented Christy Mihaly, author of HEY, HEY, HAY. And the winner is…TINA CHO.

Then we have a copy of MAXIMILLIAN VILLAINOUS by Margaret Greanias. And the winner is…LISETTE CRUZ

And last, but certainly not least, is Robin Newman’s hilarious NO PEACOCKS!

And the winner is…Carol Gordon Ekster.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE WINNERS! And a big thank you to all of the authors for writing these wonderful books and to the illustrators for bringing the stories to life with their pictures.

I’ll be connecting with all of you to make sure that you receive your books!

I truly appreciate you all coming to visit and read and comment. I’ll be skipping this week’s PPBF and WWFC, but I’ll be back with SIX STRAIGHT WEEKS OF AWESOME Debut Picture Books and Q&A’s with their authors. Heads up, everyone, because we’ve got:

AN INCONVENIENT ALPHABET by Beth Anderson

THE DIAMOND AND THE BOY by Hannah Holt

SCARLET’S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH by Melissa Stoller

SOPHIE AND LITTLE STAR by Amber Hendricks

TEACH YOUR GIRAFFE HOW TO SKI by Vivianne Elbee

ROCK AND ROLL WOODS by Sherry Hyberger Howard

You won’t want to miss any of these books!

Speaking of books…I’m blessed to have sold five manuscripts in the last couple of years. And those manuscripts are being made into books. And those books are soon to be published. I hope to have some cover reveal posts in next month or two. But I thought to myself, what could I do to celebrate this realization of a dream. And how could I best promote those books and spread the word far and wide.

Spread the word far and wide? Why not take a trip around the world?

So, this is the plan:

I leave for Sydney on Februry 19th. (24+ hours of actual flight time) I’ll be presenting at the Australia/NZ conference and meeting up with several kidlit friends…plus my agent, Essie White, is the keynote speaker.
I fly to Auckland and will stay with one of my dearest critique buddies. And while I’m there, I will do a program for the regional NZ SCBWI.
On March 19, I’ll hop another LOOONG flight (again over 24 hours of actual flight time) to Geneva where another wonderful critique buddy will pick me up and I’ll stay with her for a couple of weeks until…
We train to Italy for the Bologna Book Fair where I hope to meet up with some of the wonderful editors who are publishing my books and another incredible critique partner.
And after the conference, we’ll take day trips by train to Florence, Milan, and..
Back to Boston on April 8.

Phew! And just to let you know…the #50PreciousWords Writing Challenge will still take place…I’ll be reading all of your wonderful stories while I’m in New Zealand. I’m already on the look-out for prizes for next year so, if you’d like to donate a critique or a seat in an online writing class, please FB PM me or email me at viviankirkfield@gmail.com.

But for this weekend…if you are in a state where the leaf colors change like here in New Hampshire, I hope you get to see them. And if you drive, please be safe. We’ll be heading up to Lake Winnipesaukee to cheer for my son and son-in-law as they compete in the Tough Mudder. And then on Sunday, we’ll head to Connecticut to spread some of Stuart’s ashes on the river where he loved to fish. A bittersweet weekend, for sure.